On Relationships
by MadameDragonFlower
Summary: An episodic story about Death the Kid and Liz Thompson's developing relationship with each other. See how the two of them deal with Kid's lack of social skills and Liz's previous relationship experiences. Rated M for sexual themes.
1. The Start

((Author's note: This story may or may-not be added to at a later date. As I write this, I currently have about eight or so chapters in total. This story focuses on the developing relationship between Death the Kid and Liz. My husband and I wrote this together as our own take on their relationship, and the development thereof. We enjoyed the pairing of Kid and Liz, but thought Kid's lack of social skills would make for some hilariously awkward moments.

The chapters of this story have been adapted from roleplays and chats that my husband and I had together. Some parts are verbatim, with very few changes. Other sections have been almost completely changed or edited for content. It is rated M: there is nothing explicitly sexual in content, though their conversations do get pretty racy in some places.

This is a fun story to fuel my (and hopefully others') fandom of the Kid and Liz pairing. Would love to see what other people think of it.))

**-The Start-**

"Liz, that story you sent me was beautifully written, but terribly sad! Do you know how long it's been since I've weeped so openly? DO YOU?" Kid said as he came into the common room of the first floor of the manor house.

Liz thought for a moment. "Well, there was this morning at breakfast when you got upset over seeing your reflection on the counter top," she suggested.

Patty giggled madly. "You cry all the time, Kid!"

"I... I do not!" He began to sob wildly in a bizarre mixture of anger and depression. "Why must the two of you seek to destroy my mental health at all times? What did I ever do to you?"

"Kid, I-I.. didn't mean anything by it," Liz stuttered helplessly, laying a hand lightly on his shoulder.

Patty sobered from her laughter fit. "Didn't mean to make you sad."

Now deciding to play the high-and-mighty route, Kid puffed his chest out and snorted. "You should both put more thought into your behavior, you know! Despite your opinion of my disorder being something hilarious, it's a debilitating mental illness that I struggle with every day of my life! I should think it would be handled with more care, thank you very much!"

"We do NOT find your OCD hilarious, thank-you!" Liz retorted, angered out of her previous concern. "I'll have you know it's exhausting and annoying trying to keep track of everything we do around you to try not to set you off!"

"Patty certainly does," he answered dully. After all, the younger sister did laugh uproariously at every fit he experienced.

Liz's eyes filled with tears. "I-I can't h-h-help it if we're n-not p-p-perfect like y-you want us t-to be," Liz broke off, the tears in her blue eyes cascading down her cheeks before she put her head into her hands and began crying in earnest.

Patty stood rooted to the spot and looked at Kid accusingly. "See what you did? You made sis cry."

His dry demeanor was lost, however, once Liz started crying.

"H-hey! Liz! Stop that! I never intended to upset you! I was just... You're not REALLY crying, are you? You're just trying to mess with me! I command you to stop crying this instant!"

"I can't stop, y-you jerk," Liz's muffled voice came from behind her hands, between sobs. "Y-you only l-like us when w-w-we're weapons. And w-we c-can't do a-anything r-right for you."

"That's not true and you know it!" he snapped, stomping one foot wildly on the floor, "I rely on the two of you for far more than firepower! The respect and admiration I hold for the unwavering faith you have in each other and ability for cooperation is unimaginable! Now stop crying right now! I mean it!"

Liz peeked out from between her fingers, her sobbing stopped, but tears still trickling down her cheeks. "W-what if I c-can't?"

Patty sat down cross-legged on the floor, watching Kid carefully to make certain he would make her sister better.

Kid just stared blankly at Liz, not quite sure what to do. Up until now, he was convinced she was just teasing him as she and Patty often did. He looked to Patty for some kind of help and, receiving none, he tried to speak as reassuringly as possible. "Seriously, Liz, I'm not really mad at you. I was just joking. You know, ha ha? Like how you and Patty do to me all the time?"

Liz took her hands away from her tear-streaked face. "But you s-seemed so m-mad. And I don't like it w-when you're mad at m-me so much. Not when I-I..." she blushed slightly, blinking rapidly and releasing more tears as she did so. She stared at the floor, not daring to look up into his golden eyes.

"That's just the way I seem, Liz. It's my natural behavior! You should know me well enough by now to know when I'm genuinely angry or not!" He slumped exhaustedly and sighed "Now I know why my dad started speaking in that ridiculous voice. It does tend to help lighten the atmosphere, doesn't it?"

He then looked at Patty for a moment, made eye contact, and silently seemed to agree with her that it was worth a shot. After that, he looked back at Liz and spoke in a bouncy, nasal voice while tilting his head to one side. "So let's put a big smile on that face and act like nothing ever happened, hmmmmmmm?"

Patty giggled from her seat on the floor.

Liz looked up at Kid, her eyes wide with shock. "Don't do that," she said seriously.

He tilted his head in the opposite direction and spoke normally again. "No dice, eh? I don't get it. Everyone loves it when my father talks that way."

"That's..." Liz replied, wiping her eyes of tears and smearing her makeup in the process, "...your dad."

Patty continued to giggle. "I liked it!"

A noticeable twitch ran through Kid's body. Oh, how he wanted to correct that horrible smudge! But now probably wasn't the best time. Instead, he threw on his own cloak and mask and asked, again in his weak attempt to imitate Death's voice, "What about now? Does it work any better this way?"

Liz glared at him, suddenly angry. "I mean it, Kid. Don't do that. Patty, stop laughing at him."

Patty abruptly ceased her laughter, blinking at her sister questioningly.

Liz sighed at the look on her sister's face, and the hurt look on Kid's as he took off the mask. "I-I'm sorry," she said, looking at the floor once more. "I guess I just don't feel right tonight." _I don't feel right about not telling you,_ she thought to herself. _When you say such nice things about me..._

"You don't feel right?" A whole new wave of terror splashed over Kid at that thought. Grasping Liz's hands, he stared frantically into her eyes, searching her soul for any sign of illness. "What's wrong? Is it a cold? The flu? Cancer?" Turning to stare at Patty, he snapped "Quickly, Patty! Call 911! This is an emergency!"

"No, no, no," Liz said quickly, giving her sister a look that told her not to move. "It's not anything like that. I don't need a doctor." She reached her hand out towards his.

Patty looked back and forth between the two of them. She mumbled something about getting a hot towel and then took off towards the bathrooms.

"What is it then, if not a physical ailment? Is it psychological? Is that it, Liz?" He was now face-to-face with her, golden eyes huge with concern. "You're not letting Madness overcome you, are you Liz? Don't go down that road, Elizabeth! It's a dark tunnel with no way out!" He then shook her wildly by the shoulders. "FIGHT IT! FIGHT IT, LIZ! YOU'VE NEVER GIVEN UP ON ANYTHING ELSE IN YOUR LIFE BEFORE, NOW FIGHT!"

"Ugh!" Liz pushed Kid away from her roughly, standing back from him a couple of feet. "It's not anything like that, you idiot! You say I'm beautiful, and perfect, and all these nice things to me. But it's like ALL I am is a weapon to you. Not a girl or a woman or whatever."

She locked her eyes onto his. "But I AM a girl. A stupid, asymmetrical girl who l-lo-" Liz choked on the word and swallowed hard before continuing. "Who loves an annoying, son-of-a-bitch son of the grim reaper."

Liz broke eye contact, looking down again, unable to meet the gaze of his golden eyes. She held her breath. She'd told him. Said too much. What would she do if he rejected her?

Kid tumbled backward comically, rolling a few times before coming to a stop. Okay, so Liz was mad that he said nice things to her? How did that make any sense? Sure, HE didn't believe it when people said nice things to him, but that was because... because... well, he didn't have a reason at the moment, but there usually was a good one. But that wasn't the point right now.

"Of course I know you're a woman, Liz!" he snorted indignantly, blushing just a bit, "Forgive me if I'm unsure of how to act accordingly. Unfortunately, I've only ever lived with my father, so-" He stopped suddenly, staring in mindless shock at what she'd just said.

"You... Liz, I..." What the hell was he supposed to say to that? Especially considering the wrong thing would probably make her feel far worse than she already did. "Are you serious!" Yeah, that probably wasn't the right thing.

Liz looked up at him quickly. "Of course I'm serious! I wouldn't say something like that if.. if I wasn't." She faltered. She waiting for him to say or do something besides stare at her with that expression of his. Boredom? Disinterest? Tiredness? Shock? It was hard to tell with him sometimes, and she couldn't bear to look at him long enough to puzzle it out. After the silence had dragged on, she finally gave it up for a lost cause.

"Nevermind," she mumbled. "I'll just... go to bed and you can forget I ever said anything. We can start over in the morning." She turned to head back to her room.

"Liz, wait." While his social skills were often lacking, Kid was still an expert at regaining his composure after a shock. He was once again speaking calmly as he stood behind her and, leaning ever so slightly to the left, said "I don't intend to forget anything you've said. I'm simply confused. Nobody has ever said anything like that to me before."

His stance straightened and he furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "I honestly thought I drove you crazy. I don't see what there is that you'd find... well... lovable about me."

Liz froze at the sound of Kid's familiar voice. Something seemed to flutter deep down in her stomach as she listened to what he said. She half-turned to look at him.

"You don't drive me crazy," she said softly. "You're annoying sometimes, sure, but everyone has those moments. You're kind to me, and to Patty. And you always do the right thing, even when I'd chicken out. And I like it when you touch me, even in weapon form." Liz blushed.

"You like when I tou-" His entire face blushed a hot red at that and he quickly shook his head in a ridiculous attempt to bring the color back down. "Right. Well... Liz, I'm truly flattered! I just... I'm not sure how to react. How does one generally respond to this sort of thing? It's not that I don't share your sentiment, but... I never really allowed myself to consider such a thing..."

He thought about this for a moment before admitting "At the risk of sounding like Crona, I'm not sure how to deal with this."

Liz quickly closed the remaining space between them, leaned down and kissed him full on the lips before he could react, her lips lingering against his momentarily before she pulled away from him.

"Just... think about it for now, okay? And let me know," she said. Then, without another word, she disappeared down the hallway towards her bedroom.

Apparently this was a night for a lot of unprecedented behavior. With another wide-eyed expression frozen on his face, Kid was unable to do little more than gasp in surprise as Liz kissed him and simply watched her leave with a bewildered stare. He would definitely think about it, all right!

He continued to stand there like a deer caught in the headlights of an SUV until Patty returned with hot towels draped in her arms.

Patty studied the expression on Kid's face, and draped a hot towel over his head. He obviously needed one right now.

"Where'd sissy go?" she asked, looking around for Liz, another towel still in her hand.

"She went to bed," he answered, muffled underneath the towel.

Patty slouched. "Oh. Alrighty. I guess I should go, too."

She flopped the remaining towel over her own head and sighed with pleasure. Then she bounced down the hallway towards her own room, calling behind her, "Night-night, Kid. See you in the morning."


	2. Acceptance

**-Acceptance-**

Liz had told Kid to think about what she'd said and so he had. All night, in fact. After all, nobody had ever told him anything like that before! He was Death the Kid! The Grim Reaper, or rather, a Grim Reaper. Either way, one wasn't supposed to be in love with Death incarnate so he'd never given the possibility any thought. But it had happened once, right? After all, how else had he come to be? So clearly it wasn't an impossibility, but rather a possibility he'd never considered.

And now that he was considering it? Well, honestly, Liz Thompson probably wasn't the first person he'd have fallen for. If he had to think of what "his type" was, it would probably be someone like... himself, really. Intelligent, sophisticated, and obsessed with perfection. But Liz also wasn't the sort of person he'd have ever expected to have as a best friend, and, really, wasn't that kind of what love was when you got right down to it? And she WAS intelligent, if not easily confused by some of the more complicated concepts of reality. And she could be sophisticated when she wanted to be. Yes, they were already very close, so why not give it a chance?

So then, after a night of meditation on the topic, Kid promptly knocked on Liz's bedroom door at 8 in the morning (What other time would he have chosen, after all?). Naturally, he was already clean and well dressed in one of his many identical black suits while Liz answered the door disheveled and in her pajamas. Bowing dramatically as she opened the door, Kid stated "Good morning, Liz. I've given intense consideration to the topic you brought to light the previous evening and I have decided to acquiesce to being your boyfriend. What are your terms and conditions?"

Liz looked at Kid, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and trying to make sense of what he was saying. "Terms and..." she blinked at him sleepily. "Wait, you're... gonna be my boyfriend?" Her eyes widened as what he said to her began to sink in.

"You love me," he stated in his standard matter-of-fact way, "and while I may not have considered the possibility of such a relationship, I am very fond of you as well and I have no argument against it. Therefore, it would make sense to agree to being your boyfriend, correct?"

He tilted his head to one side, looking truly concerned that he may have done something wrong. "I'm sorry, am I going about this wrong? I apologize, but this is the first time I've ever come across such a scenario. I admit that I'm ill-prepared for the eventuality."

Liz blushed. It wasn't exactly a confession of his undying love, but she'd been with him long enough to recognize that this was the closest she would come to such a thing. The rest would have to follow in time.

Liz reached out and took his hand, giving it a slight squeeze. "You're doing fine," she smiled at him. "And you're right. I would like it if you were my boyfriend. I accept."

Kid reached forward to take hold of Liz's other hand as well, possibly for the symmetrical nature of the pose, though it was nice to consider it an act of affection. Squeezing her hands, he smiled back and said "Good. I've never thought much about romantic attachment, but I would like to see how this turns out. Who better to pair myself with than one of my closest friends?"

There was an awkward silence after which he asked "Is something supposed to happen now or do we just go about the day as we always would? This is all rather new to me, you know."

Liz blinked. "Yeah, I think we just go about things as normal, but we're supposed to be more open with our feelings to each other. Or something like that."

She looked down at their hands awkwardly, then up again suddenly as she heard a giggle coming from down the hall.

Patty stood leaning against her own bedroom's door frame, giggling at the two of them. "It's about time you two did that."

Patty's interruption caused Kid to completely lose his cool once again. Whirling around to face her, he pointed a finger in her direction while flailing his fist around wildly, snapping "Patty! Just how long have you been standing there! Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop on others? I'm appalled by your lack of manners!"

"Uh?" Patty looked at Kid in confusion. "I just got here."

"It's alright, Patty," Liz said, coming forward and putting her arm around Kid's shoulders. "How about some breakfast?"

"A likely story..." Kid answered, giving Patty the evil eye. "However, I'll let this slide... Just this once." Placing his hands into his pockets, he glanced back and forth between Liz and Patty and asked "I suppose you two would like me to prepare French toast and pancakes again?"

Patty giggled and clapped her hands. "Yeah, pancakes! Kid's gonna make pancakes!"

"Mmm... french toast. How about some bacon, too?" Liz replied, as they all headed for the kitchen downstairs.


	3. Bait and Switch

**-Bait and Switch-**

"Yo, Kid," Patty called from her sprawl on the couch. "What's the next mission?"

Liz glanced up from across the room where she was reading a magazine for his response.

"Now that you mention it, Patty, I believe we can continue with our previous mission to hunt the demon Saul. With Digit returned, we should be able to continue using her as bait for the spirit in question." He looked upset at this. "Ugh. Bad choice of words. Well, you know what I mean."

Patty giggled. "But she IS bait. And it works really well. Liz and I used to use the bait-and-switch all the time."

"Mm-hmm," Liz made an agreeable sort of noise from behind her magazine. "There was also the lost-sister routine. That one was great with tourists." Liz's voice was slightly muffled from her magazine.

Patty grinned. "That one was fun! Oh! And the fire-escape shuffle!"

Kid's eyebrows rose curiously though his eyes remained half-lidded. "The fire escape shuffle?" he repeated, already knowing he probably shouldn't have asked.

"That's kind of a misnomer," Liz replied, setting the magazine down. "The fire escape shuffle really takes three different forms, but we called them the same thing."

Patty nodded. "Uh-huh. I liked the one when the buildings were on fire. Everyone would run out of the building, and wouldn't even use the escape, so we'd go in through there, while everyone was in front. You can steal a lot of stuff when the fire's only on one floor. Especially when you started the fire yourself... on the first floor."

"Then there's the one that didn't involve larceny," Liz continued, crossing her arms. "One of us goes to the front door and gets their attention, while the other makes use of the fire escapes. The third is simply a matter of utilizing them as a means of cover." She shrugged. "I think we were the best suited for some of those. We could generally cover two buildings at once if we set a couple fires."

"You PURPOSEFULLY set peoples' homes on fire!" Kid wailed, as though he had no knowledge whatsoever of the sisters' darker lives before he met them. "Horrible! Just horrible! What would bring you to do such a thing? Why... Just the thought of the time and effort put into creating a work of architecture and you would callously mar its perfection without a second thought?"

"We never destroyed an entire building," Liz protested. "We would set them to draw attention, but not get out of hand easily. You destroy an entire building, then you can't rob it anymore. That doesn't make any sense."

Patty nodded sagely. "Sometimes we broke the pipes on the top floors instead. Or just set off smoke bombs. Or pulled the fire alarm without making a fire. Any kinda distraction to make everyone leave."

This prompted another fit wherein Kid sprawled onto the floor in tears, bawling uncontrollably. "To think that you once lived such lives of despicable behavior! Why must the world be so cruel as to force innocents to live in such a way?"

Patty blinked at him, while Liz went over and patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"It's alright, Kid," Patty said, her blue eyes full of innocence. "You made it all better for us, now, right? So you should be happy."

"Patty's right, Kid, so get up now, okay?" Liz coaxed.

"Yes... Yes, you're right... To think that you two hold someone as flawed as myself in such high regard..." Now flipping to the other extreme, he hugged both of the girls tightly and squealed "I don't deserve friends as good as you two!"

Patty giggled happily. "There! See? Everything's better now."

Liz smiled at the averted crisis. AND the closeness she got while he hugged her.


	4. Cookies and Symmetry

((Author's note: This is a short chapter made up of a couple of fragments. They were just too funny and in-character to leave out, and they really show some of Kid's development in the relationship he now has with Liz, so I couldn't help but include them.))

**-Cookies and Symmetry-**

Patty huffed as she came into the kitchen, spotting Kid. "Kid, when are you going to kiss Liz already? She won't stop going on and on and on about it..."

"I'm waiting for the right moment, Patty!" Kid huffed back, clearly annoyed by her forwardness, "A first kiss must be special, a magical moment; and that priceless moment has not arrived as of yet! I cannot accept any less!"

Patty rolled her eyes. "So? Just kiss her and get it over with, okay? Maybe squeeze her butt or something while you're at it. She liked that with one of her ex-boyfriends. Hey, are those the cookies that Crona made? Can I have some?"

Kid sputtered awkwardly at the comment about grabbing Liz's butt. "Wh-wh-HOW DARE YOU! That sort of thing is none of your business, Patricia! ... And, yes, you may have a cookie if you wish."

Patty helped herself to a cookie, grinning at Kid. "Yeah, well. I just wanted to let you know."

* * *

><p>"Liz!" Death the Kid's voice rang out throughout the Gallows Manor, accompanied by the pounding of frantic footsteps up and down the hallways as the young Reaper searched for his Weapon partner. "Liz! LIZ! Where the devil are you, woman!" Finally meeting up with her in one of the MANY living rooms of the Death Family home (ironic, really, all things considered), he gasped "At last! I've been searching for you all day!"<p>

Without further ado, he threw himself on the floor before her and grasped her hand in his, tears running freely down his cheeks. "The most terrible of revelations has come upon me, Elizabeth! One which I am loathe to acknowledge and yet must lest the harmony of our lives be rent asunder! It occurs to me that, the way things stand now, my love for you and Patty is imbalanced! I care for Patty as I would a dear sister, but as for you, the concern is so very different! This throws off our perfect equilibrium as Weapons and Meisters! How could I have been so foolish as to let such a thing happen!"

Liz looked down at Kid as he grabbed her hand, listening to him. "Kid, that's... calm down, okay? We'll figure it out," she squeezed his hand encouragingly.

"Look, there's nothing wrong with you having different affections for each of us. It's not like our relationship changes my weapon form, right? Patty and I are still twin weapons-we're still symmetrical, and we can still resonate just the same."

A nice start, but not quite enough. "But the relationships between Meister and Weapon must remain equal in order to stay balanced!" he whimpered, "What if, in a moment of distress, I favor my love for you over my love for Patty? It would be unfair to your sister to value her life any less."

Grasping his hair, he shut his eyes tight and complained "But if I'm completely honest with myself, it's true that I connect more intimately with you than with Patty! It's you that I feel I can share my innermost thoughts with and rely on while I bear more of an elder brother sense of protection for Patty! All this time I've been allowing our trio to become more and more imbalanced and imperfect! At this rate, I'll be a threat to all life as a Grim Reaper!"

"Kid, it's fine! Really! I know you're not going to let anything happen to my sister. If you did, I'd have to kill you. And you know our relationship couldn't withstand my killing you. So you'll do everything you can to keep me AND Patty safe, won't you? That keeps things nice and even."


	5. Awkward Love

((Author's Note: Sorry this update took so long. It's been sitting in a folder for quite some time and I simply hadn't gotten around to editing and posting it.))

**-Awkward Love-**

"So... what kinds of things _would_ you say in private?" Liz asked archly as they suddenly found themselves alone together in the manor's main living room. Patty was spending the night with Tsubaki and Lord Death was having some sort of all-night meeting at the school, which left Liz and Kid on their own.

"What would I say? Er... I..." Kid cleared his throat as he looked down at where she sat on the sofa. "Perhaps I would mention that the blue shade of your eyes often calms my soul. If I were to... say that sort of thing..." He looked away awkwardly.

Liz sat forward and took his hand. "I think that would be a very nice thing to say."

Kid blushed, "Yes, well." He cleared his throat again and looked at the pattern on the sofa behind her. Trying to think of something more to say, his mind suddenly recalled something Soul had stated a few days earlier about her. "...Erm... It wouldn't be terribly romantic if I were to also state that you have an 'awesome rack,' would it?"

Liz smiled enthusiastically, "Oh, I think it would be quite romantic. Would it be romantic if I were to say that I'd like for you to touch them sometime?"

"...I..." Kid stared at her, looking horribly out of his element. "I don't know! Isn't that something you're not supposed to... I mean..." He dropped her hand and clutched his head. "This is all so confusing!"

"Kid..." Liz stood, took his hands in hers, and pulled them away from his head gently. "It's alright. You're supposed to say those things to your boyfriend or girlfriend. Especially when you're alone with that person."

"But we've only been... 'attached' for a week or so! Isn't there some kind of time frame you're meant to follow?" He looked at her sternly. "There isn't some kind of written code about all of this that I could study, is there?"

"Uh... I don't know of any codes, Kid... And besides, I didn't mean you HAD to touch my rack yet... I was just informing you that I'd like it when you do, y'know?"

"But... But... No, that's uncalled for! I mean, I would enjoy it, certainly..." Kid tilted his head. "And you've caused head trauma to me when I've done it previously during some of my 'episodes.'"

"That was different. You can't just grab me in front of someone."

"Right. That makes sense. Still, I suppose I should wait for the right moment. There are appropriate cues for certain statements and actions, right?"

"I... um... sure," Liz fumbled. Why did he have to make everything so complicated? "Maybe you should read a romance novel or two?" she suggested. He obviously wanted some sort of direction for the relationship and she vaguely remembered her mother having a stack of trashy romance novels and wistfully expressing that she wished all men were like that. Then again, perhaps that wasn't the best suggestion concerning the type of men her mother had frequently been with.

Kid slumped forward. "I'm sorry. I'm terrible at this, aren't I? This is why I've never been in a relationship before, because I have no idea what to do! I'm a complete failure as a boyfriend!"

"No, you're not a failure," Liz replied soothingly "You just need to get used to it, that's all."

Kid suddenly hugged her, pressing his face into her chest. "You're so good to me!" The two of them stood like that for a few long seconds before he added, "... Also, this is rather comfortable, now that I think about it."

Liz simply blushed, but held him and ran her fingers through his black-striped hair. After a few moments, Kid finally moved his head away. They stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment before Liz finally spoke.

"Um, thanks, Kid," she said awkwardly, a strong blush tinging her face. "But they ARE smaller than my sister's."

"Patty's breasts are freakishly huge, Liz," Kid blurted, before realizing how defensive Liz might be about the subject. He tried to repair the damage quickly. Why did he have to say a thing like that? "N-not that it's a bad thing!"

"I don't think they're that big..." she considered, then shrugged. "But whatever, as long as you like MY breasts, I guess it's okay if they're small."

"They're not. Maka's are," Kid responded almost immediately, blinking. Not that it's a bad thing either, he blinked again. "Or that I've paid attention to it."

"Maka's... what, have you been staring at her chest, too?" she asked, her voice raising an octave as she stepped away from him.

"I just said I haven't! What kind of person do you take me for, Liz?" he demanded indignantly.

Liz crossed her arms across her chest. "A male."

"I take offense to that, Liz! You know full well that I am NOT that sort of person! Besides, YOU were the one only a few days ago who was talking about picturing Black*Star's..." he broke off his sentence, shuddering at the thought.

Liz blushed. "Yeah, but that was before we were dating, wasn't it? And anyway, I didn't bring it up when we were alone and trying to be romantic, now did I?"

"No. I suppose you didn't," Kid slumped again. He then straightened and said in his formal attitude, "I apologize."

"Well, you're not supposed to bring up other girl's assets with your girlfriend. At least, not in a situation like this," Liz tried to explain.

"Then I rescind my previous statement. Yours are better anyway," he took a step forward and leaned toward her. He seemed to second-guess himself and took a step back again, looking odd. Liz waited patiently to see what he was trying to accomplish. After a few seconds of indecision he took a step forward again and leaned towards her and briefly kissed her cheek.

Liz's blue eyes softened and she smiled at him sweetly. "Kid..."

"Damn, that wasn't 'magical' at all, was it?" he interrupted, sitting on the sofa heavily and completely ruining the mood. "I'm so sorry! I was trying to wait for the perfect moment and that wasn't it!"

Liz repressed a frustrated sigh and took a seat beside him. "No, no. I think it was magical. I mean, you've never kissed me before."

"Well, no, I was waiting for the right time. Apparently that was it," he sighed. "I really do have a lot to learn."

"That's alright," Liz replied. They sat in embarrassed silence for a few moments.

"You could try it again, if you think it'd help. Maybe repetition will make it better?" Liz finally asked.

"So soon? That wouldn't be overdoing it?" he asked, looking at her skeptically.

She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Especially since you're just kissing my cheek."

"Very well..." Kid tried again, this time kissing her full on the lips.

Liz looked into his golden eyes, a smile on her face. "Definitely not overdoing it," she said with satisfaction. She then leaned forward and kissed him on the lips again, making the kiss last a little longer than before. Kid leaned into the kiss, sighing involuntarily for a moment.

"I think I like that..." Kid replied, his deep voice soft.

Liz set her hand on his knee, slowly sliding it up to rest on his thigh. "Mmmm... me too," she seemed to purr, kissing him again.

Kid blushed, "Er..." He looked down at her hand, his face uncertain. "I'm conflicted. Part of me thinks that's way too forward and part of me doesn't care in the least."

"Ah. Right," she took her hand away. "Maybe we should wait a bit on that one, eh? We'll just stick with the hugging and kissing for now."

Kid furrowed his brow and licked his lips, trying to think of the best way to ask the question that he had. "How... quickly have your previous relationships developed, Liz? Or should I not ask about that?"

"Quickly? I guess it depends on the guy, right?" Liz shrugged indifferently. "Some of them get right to it, while others wanted to wait a while."

"What about those who liked both options?"

"I'm not sure you can do both at the same time, Kid. Either you do it or you don't. I mean, there's some in-between making out, certainly, but..."

"Right, right..." He interrupted, taping his fingertips on his leg for a moment. "Well, I suppose you can have your hand there. After all, you did previously express a desire to have my hand on your breast, so it's only fair, I should think."

Liz smiled, putting her hand over his on his leg. It was probably time to give Kid a break. "Would you like to make some cookies? I'll let you place the chocolate chips on them."

Kid's eye lit up in excitement, "Really? I could put eight on each one and arrange them so that each bite has a perfect amount of chocolate."


	6. Impatience

**-Impatience-**

The two of them were alone again, but Kid didn't seem to feel this was any cause for celebration. In fact, in Liz's eyes, he didn't seem to think it was cause for any action at all. Liz, however, felt that Kid was passing up a rare opportunity to further their relationship. Though certainly not in those exact words. Since all other avenues of getting Kid's attention had thus far failed, she decided to try a different tactic.

So, when Kid passed her on his way to the hall, she grabbed his arm and smeared some whipped cream on his face, then licked it off his cheek with a giggle. Kid froze in terror, then began scrubbing his face wildly.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR! Now I'm dirty! You didn't have to do that in order to get my attention, Liz!"

"Sorry," Liz apologized, still smirking.

"You should be! What if I, for some completely unknown reason, had suddenly felt the desire to smother your face with hot mozzarella and marinara sauce? I don't think you'd find it nearly so funny!"

"No, that would be hot; it'd burn me," she protested. "Besides, I wasn't the one ignoring you."

Kid hung his head, "You're right. How improper of me. I'm terribly sorry." He grasped her hands. "Please forgive me, Liz! I promise it won't happen again!"

Liz took pity on him, smiling. "All right. And I won't smear whipped cream on you anymore either."

"I'm so glad you understand!" he kissed her with a flourish.

Liz blushed, putting a hand to her cheek, "Me, too."

Kid smirked slightly, "You're rather charming when you blush, Liz. It's not something I've seen you do very often."

"Yeah, well... I'm glad you like it," she took his hand.

He squeezed her hand, "Of course I do. Particularly in that your blush tends to start in the exact center of your face, spreading out with perfect symmetry across your features!" he sighed dreamily. "Simply gorgeous!"

Liz struggled not to roll her eyes. It WAS a compliment coming from Kid, after all.

"...I have stated before how beautiful you are, haven't I? I'm fairly sure I have," Kid asked seriously.

"You have before, but not today."

"In that case, allow me to say that you are a lovely young woman, Liz. Your features are absolutely perfect in every way, from the shade of your hair to your delicate curves. Every single thing, absolute perfection."

Liz smiled in pleasure. She knew what kind of a compliment that was coming from Kid. "I think you're perfect, too, Kid."

Kid fixed her with the incredulous expression usually suited for only the grandest of moments. "Do... Do you really think that, Liz? Do you really think that I'm perfect?"

Liz laughed. "Yeah. Of course I do."

"You're just saying it! You have to be! There are way too many flaws! My hair for starters! And my paranoia! And the fact that I can never get the 'K' just right when I spell my name..."

"But I like those things about you. They're part of what makes you perfect. They make you 'Kid' and Kid is perfect for me," Liz explained, running her fingers through the striped side of his hair.

He sniffled pitifully and then clung to her. "Oh, Liz! You're so wonderful! I don't deserve someone as perfect as you! I LOVE YOU!"

Liz held him close to her possessively. "I love you too, Kid."

"But you're not required to! That's what's so strange about it!" he said with wonder, trying to puzzle out the matter aloud. "I mean, my father loves me the way I am, but he's supposed to. He's my father. That's how it works. But you... You still love me even with all of the hell I put you through? I don't understand at all, but I like it. Which is completely unheard of because I generally hate things I don't understand!"

"Then I guess I'll have to be glad that you like me that much in return, huh?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Kid asked, suddenly back to his usual deadpan voice.

"Well... I guess where I came from. I mean, I wasn't brought up like you or anything..."

"No, but even from the harshest of lives, a good soul can come into being, just as an evil soul can come from a life of affluence," he replied philosophically.

Before Liz had a chance to reply, Kid was on to the next subject, breaking his philosophical trance to gaze at her with flat golden eyes. "So, I have to admit that last night's escapades with you and your sister running after each other down the halls were rather amusing in their own way."

"And which way was that?" Liz questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"In the way that you were practically naked. Very arousing, if I were to be completely honest. Though I suggest in the future you cover yourself better after bathing."

She half-smiled distantly, her mind suddenly elsewhere as she thought about the implications of Kid's statement. "And how would you describe that arousal?"

Kid twitched one eyebrow. "Liz, I'm well aware that you know how the male body responds to sexual arousal. I'm sure I don't need to describe it to you."

Liz pouted, sticking her bottom lip out comically. "You're no fun!"

"You're the one asking me to describe my own sexual arousal. That's just dirty, Liz."

"No it's not, it's..." Liz began to protest. Having lived with Kid for this long, she knew it was a lost cause in trying to explain such a thing to him, so she gave it up before even trying. "Never mind."

"Well, what if I asked you to describe your own arousal? I should think that would be terribly out-of-line!" Kid responded, looking completely nonplussed as always.

Liz smiled slyly, "Then I'd tell you it generally starts as a fluttery feeling in my stomach, then travels up into my breasts until I can feel my ni—"

"S-STOP!" Kid interrupted. His expression had quickly turned into wide-eyed shock and his face was even paler than usual. "There's no need to say that kind of thing!"

Liz stopped her explanation with a shrug. "You asked."

"IT WAS A RHETORICAL QUESTION!" He crossed his arms, blushing. "Now I know how Soul must feel with Blair around him all the time. At least I don't get nosebleeds from being around women..."

Liz's smile slid off her face like mud down a hillside. "Hasn't your dad given you a book or something yet?"

Kid looked at her seriously. "Liz, I'm seventeen years old. I'm inexperienced, but I know how THAT works."

"Yeah, but..." She sighed and took a deep breath. There really was no explaining to him just how intense she felt about him—sexually or otherwise.

"Look, if you're saying you're impatient, I understand, Kid said, taking her hand in his. I'm sure you've had more than enough experience in that respect and doubtless you're eager to enter that point of our relationship. I'm just going to need a bit of... guidance in that respect. It's not something I'm used to and... if I'm being completely honest... I'm... kind of scared of it."

Liz blinked at him in dumbfounded surprise. "I didn't think you were scared of anything. Aside from, y'know, asymmetrical candles and stuff. But that's not really a fear..."

"I fear failure," he shrugged. "You should know that by now. And cockroaches. Disgusting little things."

She smiled slightly, "Yeah, but there's no reason you should fear failure. You're always so capable."

"But how do I know that I won't fail in a situation I've never had any experience with?" he asked, the pupils in his eyes contracting as he began to talk faster. "I could make a complete fool of myself and destroy all of my hard work to do everything perfectly! I'm struggling enough with the way things are now!"

"It's alright, Kid! Calm down!" Liz planted her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. "Listen, I'm sorry, okay?"

Kid's eyes refocused on the beautiful girl in front of him. "Right... Right... I'm calm. Everything's fine."

"I'll try to back off, alright? Take things slower."

"No, there's no need to be sorry. I'm the one causing the problems here. I just need to toughen up."

"No, no. You're... wonderful," Liz said, looking at him as though she was trying to memorize every tiny detail of his face. The way his golden eyes were ringed. The way his nose curved. The way his lips looked and made her feel as though she wanted to melt right into him every time they touched her. She sighed. "I've just... never been in a relationship where I actually cared what the other person thought, I guess. I don't want to mess this up, either."

"You're not messing things up, Liz. Just keep in mind that I'm not one of those rough New York City types you're used to," he kissed her hand and smirked. "For once, I'm the one out of my element while you know exactly what to do."

"Yeah, right," Liz replied sarcastically, but smiled at him anyway. "Even on MY home turf you were in your element. How else did you get me and Patty?"

"Honestly, it was a lot of dumb luck. I'm surprised you haven't noticed how often my father and I both rely on that."

"Don't tell me that! We were totally impressed!" she grinned. "You took out all those jerks all by yourself. That had to be more than luck."

"Oh, the part where I pummeled all of those thugs holding you at gunpoint, that was typical Reaper awesomeness. I won't deny that," he said matter-of-factly. "But your agreeing to become my partners, that was luck. I just had to hope you would agree to it."

Liz snorted. "As though we would refuse after _that _display!" She smiled again and hugged him. "You were amazing."

Kid chuckled and held her to him. "So are you. Why else would I have chosen you?"

"I dunno. But I'm glad you did."

"So am I..." He adjusted his coat as she pulled away from him, "Even if it meant inviting a bit of chaos into my home..."

"I was terrible when you first brought me here," Liz confessed.

"No... No... Well... Maybe a little." Kid smirked and ducked his head as she aimed a playful punch at his head.


	7. Deeper

((Author's Note: This is all I have done so far. I know I said I had eight chapters total, and I do, but the last one isn't finished yet. I'm still not certain if there will be more after. Thanks for reading!))**  
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**-Deeper-**

It had been a bad day for Elizabeth Thompson. It seemed as though everything she did turned out wrong somehow, and the day simply wasn't going as planned. So, towards the end of the day when she found herself alone with Kid again, she was still decidedly grumpy.

"Hey," Liz said, coming into the study and flopping on one of the cushioned chairs.

Kid looked up from the book he had been immersed in, "Hello there." He then went back to his book.

Liz looked at him sourly. After a few moments of silence, her bad temper finally got the best of her. "So you can't even kiss me when Patty's looking?"

Kid looked up from his book again. "Of course I can. It's just that you usually seem focused on things a bit more advanced than kissing," he replied levelly, in his usual deadpan manner.

"Yeah, but I promised I'd slow down last time, right?"

"This is true," he smiled, closing his book and setting it within a drawer, so as to leave the desk-top clear. His eyes took on a shine. "Though I still have to say I sort of like it when you rush things. It's odd, like a perfect balance between fear and excitement. A whole new form of symmetry that I've never experienced!"

"Oh," Liz's anger dimmed. "But you got mad at me yesterday."

"I was unfortunately imbalanced last night. I apologize," he blushed and darted his eyes away from her. "Though I'm not used to you talking about your nipples. It was very embarrassing!"

"Maybe I should try and find a middle ground?" she suggested.

"Ideally. That is what I live for, after all."

"Mmm," she got up from her seat, coming across the room to hug him, slipping her hands inside his jacket to do so.

He blushed and held her to him. "I like that. Oh, and as for that 'make out' date... I was going to suggest one of our rooms, but I suppose that might be a bad idea, hmm?"

She looked at him curiously. "Why?" she asked, leaning forward some more and kissing him behind the ear.

"...I'm not really sure. Seemed inappropriate..." He chuckled "But I'm beginning to understand that's how you like things."

"I don't know about that. Maybe it's just that I don't know how to be appropriate," Liz straightened the hair above his ear to the way he liked it. "We could go somewhere else if it bothers you."

"It doesn't bother me at all. I'm coming to enjoy some of this lowbrow behavior."

"The spoiled little rich kid? Enjoying the measly pleasures of us street trash?" she asked self-mockingly.

"Hey! Don't talk about yourself like that, Liz! You didn't grow up privileged, but you're not trash!" He pulled away and brushed her hair back, oddly amused by the loss of symmetry. "You're better than you give yourself credit for!"

Liz blushed and looked away from him. "Yeah?"

"Of course! As Patty would say..." He spoke in a silly, airy voice. "Garbage is 'ew' and you're not 'ew,' so you can't be garbage!"

Liz chuckled despite her foul mood. "Great imitation!"

"Do you really think so?" He flashed an actual grin. "I didn't think it was very good at all."

"It wasn't. It was awful. But in a good way."

"Not like when I imitate Dad."

"No. Not like that. Don't do that," she said seriously.

He looked amused, "I still don't get why that upsets you so much."

"It's like... I dunno," she struggled to describe it. "Your dad is a dad to me, too, right? And you wouldn't be interested in being romantically involved with your dad?"

Kid blanched, "Ew. You're right, that is pretty gross."

"Yeah."

"So, right, no more imitations, then," he smiled at her, hugging her close. Liz ran her finger along the curve of his ear, smiling to herself.

Kid shivered and clapped his hand over hers, fighting off an awkward grin. "That tickles, you know..."

"Oh? You mean reapers are ticklish?" she asked archly with a grin, immediately attacking his side with tickles.

"Heh-Stop-Haha! Stop that!" He began tickling her bare belly. "Two can play at that game!"

"Hey!" Liz squealed and tried to squirm away from him, laughing.

Kid laughed evilly and spoke in a deep, creepy voice, "You should know better than to challenge Death itself!"

Liz froze in mid-squirm, "What...?" She stared at him. "You didn't tell me you had a creepy voice, too."

He stopped his tickling and shrugged. "Oh, that? Yeah, we all have that. Sorry. I thought you knew. Also..." He reached out and grabbed one of her boobs. "Don't let your guard down! HAH!"

She slapped his hand away playfully with a giggle. "Hey, now! Those are rather ticklish, too..."

"Indeed... Flat out telling me your weaknesses? Do you even intend to win this battle?"

"Mmm..." she chuckled, "I think I'm already winning."

"Oh, really? Howso?"

"Well, you did just grab my boob of your own free will."

"Oh..." he blushed, "Right."

Liz grinned and leaned towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Kid slid his hands around her waist, kissing her softly. She trembled as his lips touched hers.

Kid smiled at her as the kiss ended. "You're so beautiful... Absolutely perfect."

Liz returned the smile, saying the only thing that was in her mind, "I love you, Kid."

"And I love you, Liz," he kissed her again.

She lingered on the kiss, and then looked at him, her blue eyes wide. "You- you do?"

"Of course I do! I wouldn't do these sort of things otherwise, would I?" Kid said, looking genuinely confused by her reaction.

"It's just... you've never really said it before."

"I haven't? I'm sure I have," he looked thoughtful. "What about the other day when I voiced my concern over the difference between my fraternal love for Patty and my romantic love for you?"

"Well, yeah. But you didn't say it outright like that. I just didn't expect it."

"...I guess you're right. I'm sorry, Liz, I ought to say it more often." He took her hands in his own and repeated it, "I love you, Liz Thompson!"

She blushed hotly, causing Kid to chuckle, "You're very cute when you blush."

"You said that yesterday," she pointed out, pulling off his jacket.

"Yes, well it hasn't ceased to be true."

"That's good. You seem to make me blush a lot," she snuggled against him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"It's only fair. You have plenty of ways to do the same to me," He rubbed her back, the two of them sitting on top of the desk now.

"You think so?" she asked, sighing with contentment. So far this was the best part of the entire day. Just sitting with her meister.

"Apparently you've forgotten some of the things you've said the previous night."

"What, about my nipples? It was true. Do you like the thought that you make my nipples hard?"

Kid blushed hotly, "I didn't mean that you had to repeat it!"

"I didn't repeat all of it," she touched his nose lightly. "And you didn't answer my question."

Kid mumbled under his breath, "... yes..."

"Hmmm?"

"I said yes... I like the thought..." He glared at her. "You're evil, you know that?"

"You said I wasn't evil," she kissed him with a giggle and looked at him curiously. "You should know."

"Then, in that case, you're very frustrating..." He smirked.

"You know, I've never dated a meister before..."

He chuckled, "Fair enough. I've never dated anyone before."

"Yeah, but I wonder..." she looked at him with a half-smile.

"About...?"

Liz leaned into him, closing her eyes and touching her lips to his, while she expanded her soul, purposefully resonating with him on a low level. Kid followed suit, matching her soul wavelength as they kissed, a faint sigh escaping his throat.

"Ah..." Liz pulled away from him, eyes wide and catching her breath. "Maybe... Maybe we should wait for that."

Kid snickered, "A bit too much for you? I guess that makes things even, then."

"That felt... that felt..." she was blushing almost painfully. "That's NOT like working as a weapon."

"I thought it felt really nice..." he tilted his head, looking at her questioningly. As Liz continued to avoid his gaze, her cheeks flushed, he added. "Heh, all right. So we'll take that one slowly as well."

"It did feel really nice. Maybe too nice," she said, hugging him close.

Kid held her tightly. "I don't understand... You've done... Well, all sorts of other things, but that's too much for you?"

"Yeah, but never..." she blushed and looked away from him again. "Never like that. That's like... I dunno. Having an orgasm in my soul? I don't know how to explain it."

His eyebrows raised in surprise, "Seriously? Clearly it must have affected you much more strongly than it did me!"

She continued to avoid his gaze, "Sorry "

"Don't be," he smiled. "In my case, it simply felt warm and comforting all over. I guess I should have assumed my soul might be more overwhelming than yours in that regard."

"Yeah?"

Kid fell silent, thinking for a moment, then he began to chuckle, ultimately leading to him laughing out loud. "If it affects you that strongly when we kiss, I can't imagine how bad it'll be during other things!"

"...I...yeah..." she continued to blush. No one else had ever seemed to make her feel so out of her element as Kid. And yet, he never did it in a way that she completely disliked.

Kid kissed her again with a smile. "Something to look forward to, I suppose."

"Mmm," Liz finally turned back to meet his golden eyes. "You're perfect, Kid."

"And so are you, Liz," he said it factually.

Liz took off her tie and wrapped it around his neck. Kid raised an eyebrow. "I can't help but notice that various articles of clothing are gradually being removed..." he trailed off, looking pointedly at his jacket lying beside them on the desk.

"Just the outer stuff," Liz shrugged.

"Well, obviously. You couldn't very well remove the inner without starting with the outer."

She chuckled, "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean, exactly?"

"I just mean, I'm making us comfortable," she kissed his neck softly.

"I see. I can live with that."

"Can you?" She kissed his neck again, sliding her hand up his thigh.

Kid shuddered at her touch. "Yeah... I think so..." He ran his fingers through her hair. She trembled, flexing her hand on his thigh.

"So... Are you feeling any better than you were before?" Kid asked, "I know you seemed to be having a bad day."

Liz tilted her head with a smile, "Yeah. Definitely better than before."

"That's good," he kissed her forehead with a smile. "I can't have someone so important to me feeling depressed."


	8. All the Way

((Author's Note: Finally the update of the 8th chapter! Sorry it took so long. This one is definitely the steamiest so far, and the reason for the M rating. I don't know if there will be any more chapters after this. My husband and I still play with the characters on and off, so it's very possible. But no promises. I don't want to disappoint.

I love reviews! The more reviews, the more likely I am to add more chapters.))

Liz came into Kid's study sometime later as he was sitting at his desk. She was wearing a very low cut tank top, which seemed to also expose a great deal of her midriff. The long length of her legs were exposed as well, as she was wearing short-shorts that were just a tad too long to be considered swimsuit shorts.

She slipped across the room and sat on the corner of his desk, purposefully leaning over towards him to see what he was doing. "Whatcha working on, Kid?"

Completely absorbed in his work as always, Kid kept his eyes completely fixed on the papers in front of him as he answered. "I'm doing some research on some of the ancient prophecies regarding the Great Old Ones. The situation we're currently in has me worried, concerning the imbalance of time and space as well as the gathering of the Death family. I fear that the Multiverse may very well be orchestrating the return of..."

His eyes finally moved toward Liz and caught a generous glimpse of cleavage. With his cheeks burning a bright red, he darted his eyes up toward her own and announced "I don't believe I've ever seen you wear that top."

"Yeah, I picked it up the other day," she replied nonchalantly. "Do you like it?"

"It's... er..." His eyes moved down again and then right back, though avoiding her deep blue gaze out of embarrassment. "It certainly helps to display your natural beauty."

Liz smiled at him. "Think you could set the books aside for a while? Maybe do something else?" She tilted her head, sitting up again and bringing her legs up so that her feet were on the desk.

"I'm afraid your position leaves me little alternative," he answered, indicating the way she seemed to have purposely sat on his books and papers. "I assume you had something specific in mind?" He smirked faintly at that and kissed her bare leg.

Liz grinned. "Nothing too specific. Just involving more of those kisses. Maybe a couple of other things." She brushed her fingers through his hair.

"Other things, you say?" He smiled, having finally grown accustomed to, and even fond of, her toying with his hair without throwing a fit. "And just what might these 'other things' be?"

Liz took a paper and stuck it in the open book on the desk, then closed it and pushed it aside. She then kneeled on the desk, her knees apart, facing Kid directly. She cupped his face in her hands, leaning forward and kissing him.

"I suppose the other things depends on what you want. You're the once setting the pace of this relationship," she said softly as she pulled away.

It was here that Kid's mind apparently ceased to exist. "I am...?" With his eyes seeming to return to focus, he said "Oh, yes! Yes, I am! Er... Well, you're allowed to speed things up, if you like. I feel I'm doing quite well lately, after all."

"I'm allowed to, huh?" Liz smiled as she slipped off the desk, straddling him in his chair. "You dad's not home, is he...?" She kissed Kid's jaw line softly.

"Not that I'm aware of..." His arms wrapped around her waist seemingly of their own will and he kissed her in return before admitting "But I can't help shaking the feeling we're being watched."

"Watched? Hm... why don't we go to another room, then?" Liz slipped off his lap, taking his hand and leading him out of the room.

As Liz led him by the hand to his room, Kid blushed slightly and took a few deep, heavy breaths to calm his nerves. Aside from the obvious cause for anxiety, there was the fact that he'd neglected to put away the books in the library and there were papers still strewn about. Ugh! If only he could... just... go back there...

2, 4, 6, 8...

Okay, better now.

"So..." he asked in a voice so shaky and timid that it sounded more like an imitation of Crona than anything else, "How, eh... How does one normally go about doing... this sort of thing?"

Liz glanced back at him as they arrived at his bedroom and she pushed the door open. "Don't worry, Kid, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

She led him fully into the bedroom, closing the door behind them, then pulling him around quickly, pinning him gently with his back against the door.

"If I remember right, this was about the position you were in when we first met, isn't it?" she asked slyly.

"Indeed." As always, he was proper to a fault. With the usual look of disinterest on his face, he added "Though I'm fairly sure your intentions were entirely different at the time..." At this point, a mischievous little smile curled his lips and he mused "Or were they? I do recall you referring to me as 'pretty boy' at the time. Perhaps there was more to that than just intimidation tactics?"

Liz blushed. "I didn't always lie..."

She looked down for a second before looking back up at him, taking another step forward, her breasts almost touching him. "Though I definitely have different intentions tonight than I did then," she said softly, beginning to unbutton his jacket.

"So even then, you literally had it in your mind to flirt with Death?" He snickered at the lame wordplay and traced his fingertips along her arms. "I'm not sure it was wise to partner myself with someone so reckless, after all!" He kissed her softly after that and locked eyes with her, allowing himself not a faint smirk of any sort, but a full, genuine smile. "But I'm glad I did."

She returned his smile, her eyes shining with pleasure. "I'm glad you did, too," she replied. "And who would have thought Death came in such a handsome package?."

Liz pressed herself against him, running a finger along the side of his face and down his neck to touch his shirt collar.

A shiver of pleasure ran through his body at the sensation of her fingertip along his neck. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he held her tight and kissed her again, sucking gently at her lower lip while caressing her lower back. The fact that there had once been a time when he'd felt afraid to touch her hand for fear of germs (that he was immune to, of course) seemed completely impossible at this point. There was nobody in the world safer, more comforting to be with, than Liz.

Liz sighed happily as they broke away, opening her eyes to look at him with a contented smile on her face. "Why is it that even when I have you in a position like this, where you're at my mercy, it always seems as though I'm the one who's at a disadvantage?" she asked lightly.

"I did say that you were flirting with Death," he explained in a tone that carried an intentional smart-alec vibe. With his grip tightening around her, he narrowed his eyes and purred "If you think you've got what it takes to beat me, I'd love to see you try."

The same thing he'd said in response to her initial threat when they'd said long ago, only this time it carried an obvious suggestion rather than being an arrogant remark. Oh yeah, two could play at that game.

She tilted her head up and kissed him again, nibbling his upper lip softly. She wanted to take off his shirt, but he was holding her too closely against him to be able to, so she settled for wrapping one of her legs around his, her foot rubbing the back of his knee.

"I'll take that challenge," she said firmly as the kiss ended. But looking into his eyes, she knew now as she knew then, that it was a fight she would lose. This time would be different, though. This time she would embrace his victory rather than raging at her own defeat. It was a natural end to things; all people faced Death in the end, and Liz would belong to Kid in the end.

But damn if she wouldn't have fun trying to best him anyhow.

"Is that the best you can do?" he asked, apparently deciding to ignore the obvious sigh of satisfaction that escaped his throat immediately after the kiss. Keeping his tight grip around her waist, he began to move his fingers lower, reaching the waistline of her shorts. "I expected much more from one of the infamous 'Demons of Brooklyn!'"

Then his hands stopped. They'd reached the point where fabric met skin and the pounding of his heart and familiar distant look of panic in his eyes clearly said all that needed to be said. Losing all of the intimidation he'd worked up, he meekly whimpered "help..."

"Come on now, Kid," Liz chided with a chuckle. "I don't win already, do I? We haven't even gotten started."

She took his now-slack hands in hers and moved them up to slide under her scanty tank-top. "Why don't we start up here?" She began unbuttoning his undershirt as she waited for him to register the change of location.

Liz gasped as Kid's cold hands came into contact with her skin, despite the fact that she had put them there herself. How had his hands gotten so cold so quickly? He'd had his hands on her sides just a moment ago and they hadn't been cold at all then.

The twitch of Kid's eyebrow a second later as he felt skin instead of a bra, however, made the sudden shock of his cold hands more than worthwhile.

She smirked at him, leaning forward and kissing him lightly, causing her breasts to press against his hands more. "Of course; you're always the gentleman, Kid." She trailed a finger down his now exposed chest, ending at the waistline of his pants. She looked up at him significantly. "I would expect nothing less from the son of the Grim Reaper."

Kid's eyes grew wide in astonishment as his fingers met with bare skin instead of the anticipated fabric. Face blushing a crimson red, he only managed to mumble the word "S-soft..." Sure, he'd expected soft, but this was... Oh, dear god!

Trying to keep himself back on planet Earth, he stared vacantly into Liz's calming blue eyes and tried to think of something witty and seductive to say in response. What he came up with was "Your breasts feel amazing, did you know that?"

Liz laughed. She was just about to start unbuttoning his pants, and all Kid could think about was how soft her breasts were. With all the guys she'd been with, Kid was definitely the most unique. Both in looks and in his reactions. And the fact that he wasn't human. She tried not to dwell on that one too much.

"Amazing isn't generally the word I use to describe the way they feel, Kid, but thanks anyway," she replied to his question. "I think I'd like to feel something of yours as well..."

"Something of mine...?"

Liz slid her hand down with a smile on her face, pressing against the bulge in his pants.

"Oh, yes! Of course!" Kid practically yelped, causing Liz to grin in satisfaction.

He brought his hands back and took a deep breath in a desperate attempt to keep his nerves calm, all the while feeling baffled at his own emotions. He could engage a slavering hellbeast in mortal combat without breaking a sweat, but undressing for his girlfriend was frightening him? Ridiculous! But then, it was also ridiculous that he then guided Liz's hands away and moved to one of his dressers where he proceeded to remove and carefully fold each and every individual article of clothing and pile it on top of the dresser.

Underneath his breath, he muttered "Never a need to rush things, after all." After that, he turned to face Liz in his best attempt to retain the usual self-confidence he portrayed. "Very well. What's your assessment. Be brutal, I can take it."

Liz watched him in confusion as he slipped away from her, crossing to the other side of the room and began taking off his clothing one by one. She stared at him in astonishment. So, she groped him and that meant he took off his clothes for her? She should have tried that a long time ago, if that was the case!

Very quickly, her astonishment turned to appreciation as he began to reveal more and more of himself. First, the undershirt came off as he unbuttoned it with very precise hands, revealing his thin but muscular torso. He continued removing layers of clothing as she watched, until finally there was nothing left. The son of the Grim Reaper stood there in all his stark glory, barefoot and bare-waisted.

Liz had certainly had daydreams about this moment, but they weren't anything like the reality. Her daydreams had always involved a bit of... exaggeration, but... WOW was all she could think. How did he keep other people from noticing that? He must really have an excellent tailor after all. Either that, or he somehow used that cloak stuff for his underwear. But they had looked normal when he took them off...

She shook off her reverie to answer his question, trying her best to look at his face and failing miserably, her eyes stuck on his waistline.

"Oh... uh... brutal, huh? I..." she trailed off, uncertain what to say and completely distracted by the sight of him. Finally she managed only to blurt what first came to her mind, "God! Where do you keep that thing, Kid?"

It was an exercise in nerves for Kid to maintain his composure as Liz scrutinized his nude form. He kept feeling as though he should quickly redress, apologize for the awkward situation, and then go back to studying in hopes that it would never be brought up again, but that didn't exactly seem conducive to a romantic setting. So, instead, he drew a deep breath and waited for his love's response... only to stare at her in total bewilderment afterward.

"Where do I...?" One eyebrow rose upward as he stared incredulously at her. "In my pants, of course! Just because I'm a Reaper doesn't mean my anatomy drastically rearranges when I put my clothes on!"

"What?" Liz was momentarily distracted enough to look up at his face. "That's not what I meant! I just meant... it doesn't look that big when you're wearing clothes..." Her eyes were drawn downward again.

"Well, naturally. I'm not usually aroused when clothed. At least, not all the time..." Watching the movement of her eyes, he finally began to chuckle and asked "So I can safely assume that you approve?"

"Oh, yes. Definitely," she crossed the room to him, pulling off her top and dropping it on the floor.

Now it was his turn to gawk in amazement. Of course, with his ever-present obsessive compulsiveness, his attention was split between admiring Liz's body and being horrified by the unfolded article of clothing on the floor. Yet, somehow, the disorder here didn't seem quite so important. Go figure.

"Liz..." he sighed, a sheepish smile on his face, "You are so beautiful..." Holding her close, he kissed her one more time and then teasingly pointed out "You're only half done, you know."

"Yeah?" she asked, pressing herself against him and kissing him again, her tongue exploring his mouth. When they broke away she smiled challengingly. "Why don't you do something about it, then?"


	9. Pensivity

((Authors Note: I wrote this chapter shortly after uploading the last, though I didn't get around to posting it until now. I don't know if there will be any more after this.))

**-Pensivity-**

The next evening, Death the Kid found himself in his study again. This time, however, the door was firmly locked against interruptions. It was important that he get down to the bottom of what was currently happening. Possibly his father knew, but as usual he wasn't giving up any information, preferring that Kid learn things on his own whenever possible.

Regardless, it meant Kid had to spend quality time with a stack of dusty old books and scrolls.

He turned his attention to the old book open before him, a heavy and boring piece that tried its best to document what little was known about the Elder Gods. It was disappointingly thin, made worse that at least half of it was written in a language unknown to anyone. Kid found himself reading the margin notes of Reapers past trying to make sense out of the mystery of the book. They hadn't seemed to have any more luck than he was having.

Staring at the indecipherable pages, Kid found his thoughts drifting elsewhere. Back to the night before. Back to Liz, her fingers soft as rose petals tantalizing his skin. The flush of her face and the symmetrical waterfall of her hair falling around them.

She had been perfect last night, just as she always was. A perfect balance between eager and patient with him. The perfect combination of experience and uncertainty. The perfect poise of tenderness and—

The book in front of him came sharply into focus as he realized where his thoughts were heading. Perhaps now wasn't the best time to be thinking about Elizabeth. And yet, how could he not think of her?

After stirring thoughts of last night, all he could think of was the next time. Having accomplished success once, he was now confident in his abilities. Next time, he would make her wholly his own. He would have her, body _and_ soul. He would conquer her as he knew only he could, the future Grim Reaper.

Yet, as he planned his conquest, somehow he knew there was a wild and unrestricted side of Liz that could not be conquered. Nor would he want to do so. It was part of what made her Liz. He loved her all the more for it.

Kid allowed a grin to spread across his features, savoring the thoughts of what was to come. After a moment or two he shook his head and turned his full attentions back to the book in front of him.

* * *

><p>Elizabeth Thompson sat with her sister Patty in the living room with the biggest TV in the Gallows Mansion. The two of them were most of the way through a movie of Patty's choosing. Something with talking animals in it; Liz's attention has waned after the first fifteen minutes.<p>

Her attention was on Kid.

They had been awake and moving about well before Patty and Lord Death had returned home in the morning. There had been no awkward questions or explanations. Kid has been his usual gentleman self. The only hint of the night before had been the lingering of his eyes on her, seconds longer than they would normally linger. She didn't expect anything more. She knew Kid. Knew him even better after last night.

Yet there were so many times he was still a mystery. The Reaper part of him was a constant unknown to her. That part of him that was inhuman, a part she was uncertain how to reach, and equally uncertain if she should try. Most of the time he seemed so normal, but then she'd blink and he'd do something so… so… well, UN-normal. Like growing his arm back after having it cut off, or pulling a skate board out of the palm of his hand, or getting punched in the stomach by something five times his size and it having little to no effect. But wasn't part of that what made him Kid? He wouldn't be who he was without being a Reaper.

Liz sighed to herself, leaning against the arm of the couch. Why was it necessary for her to internalize his Reaperness with his humanity? Damn, he must be rubbing off on her. Naturally it was his fault. Not that she would do anything about it. She knew it was too late; that battle had already been lost. Especially after last night. She had only to wait until Kid got the nerve to see her alone again. Whether that would take a day or a week, she wasn't sure. She had learned to be patient in that respect.

Liz blinked at the sudden silence filling the room, realizing that the movie was over and the TV was now off. Looking over at her sister, she nearly yelped as Patty's face loomed only a few inches from her own.

"So…" her sister drawled. "Didja do anything with Kid last night? Huh? Didja, didja, didja?" Patty's grin was positively manic.

Liz rolled her eyes. "Yes, if you have to know, runt."

"About time!" Patty leaned back on her heels, still grinning. "So, you gonna tell me about it? Any juicy details? How big is he?"

"I'm not going to tell you about it! After you just made me sit through a kiddy movie!" Liz threw a pillow at her sister, who collapsed into squeals of laughter as the pillow hit her in the face, knocking her backwards on the couch. "Besides, it none of your business this time. Get your own boyfriend."

"Yeah, sure! I'll get Soul to be my boyfriend so that mine will be cooler than yours."

"Ha! Good luck with that one, Patty."

Patty simply giggled and threw the pillow back at Liz, which prompted an all-out war. Kid found them a few hours later in the midst of the living room, pillows and feathers scattered everywhere with the two of them lying side by side on their backs on the floor, giggling about another topic of conversation together.


End file.
